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April 7

Newspapers in 1855The Fireman’s Journal and Military Gazette debuted in San Francisco. It was published through 1859, “Devoted to the interests of the various fire departments and the military organizations throughout the state.”

Accidents in 1926Fire tornadoes developed after lightning struck an oil storage facility near San Luis Obispo. Nine hundred acres burned and two people died. Thousands of whirlwinds were produced by the four-day-long firestorm. Debris was carried miles away.

San Luis Obispo Tank farm fire (1926).

Jerry Brown, photograph by Will Davison.

Brown in 1938Jerry Brown Jr., politician, was born in San Francisco. He became Oakland mayor, California Attorney General and California governor, twice.

Accidents in 1982 An AC Transit bus clipped a stalled car then struck a double-tanker truck. It jack-knifed and exploded in the Berkeley Hills Caldecott Tunnel, killing seven people.

Caldecott Tunnel fire (1982).

Newspapers in 1992The Sacramento Bee won two Pulitzer prizes. It was recognized for stories on environmental threats and damage to the Sierra Nevada mountain range and examining the moral and ethical issues involved in primate research.

Sacramento Bee.

Straight in 2001Beatrice Straight, theater, film and television actress, died in Los Angeles at age 86. She won an Academy Award for film acting and a Tony Award for her work on stage.

Agar in 2002John Agar, actor, died in Burbank at age 81. He was best known for starring with John Wayne in “Fort Apache,” (1948) and “Sands of Iwo Jima” (1949).

Lang Antique and Estate Jewelry.

Crime in 2003 Thieves stole 1,300 pieces of jewelry valued at $4.5 million from a San Francisco store. Troy and Dino Smith and George Turner were caught and convicted of the crime.

Newspapers in 2003 The San Francisco Chronicle ran a full-page ad calling for the impeachment of President George Bush.

Crime in 2005Prosecutors charged Julie Lee, age 62, with grand theft and other felonies. Charges related to a $500,000 grant for a San Francisco community center that was never built.

Korean Christian retreat center in Temecula (2009).

Crime in 2009A gunman in Temecula opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center, killing one woman and injuring four.

Crime in 2010DEA agents raided an Emeryville drug analysis laboratory as part of an investigation called “Operation Lude Behavior.” Three men at the lab were among 22 charged in a nationwide Quaalude trafficking ring.

Asian citrus psyllid.

Environment in 2011An Asian citrus psyllid, which carries a disease killing trees, was discovered in Ventura County. The county was put under quarantine for the tiny aphid-like pest.

Government in 2013 California officials announced that federal authorities broke the law when they leased land to oil drillers without studying the possible risks of hydraulic fracturing.

April 8

Russians in 1806Nokolai Rezanof anchored in San Francisco Bay. He sought supplies for the Russian-American outpost at Sitka, Alaska and hoped to discuss trade with the Spanish. During his visit to Yerba Buena, he fell in love with the teenage daughter of the commandant of the presidio, which began a tragic love story.

Round Valley Seal.

Indians in 1864Round Valley Indian Rancheria was formed in Mendocino County by forcing people from different tribes from their homelands to live together. Through years of intermarriage, a common lifestyle and a shared land base, a unified community has emerged.

Newspapers in 1867The Weekly Sutter Banner began publishing in Yuba City and continued through March 28, 1879.

Yuba City.

Harriet Huntington Doerr.

Doerr in 1910Harriet Huntington Doerr, granddaughter of railroad tycoon Henry Edwards Huntington, was born in Pasadena. She won the American Book Award for Stones for Ibarra (1984), about a couple that leaves a house and job in San Francisco to travel to the Mexican village of Ibarra to reopen a copper mine.

Sports in 1910Auto racing began at the wooden track Los Angeles Motordrome in Playa del Rey, the first auto speedway in the U.S..

Los Angeles Motordrome boardtrack angle.

Sports in 1916Bob Burman, race car driver, crashed in Corona. He killed himself and three others, injuring five spectators when he rolled his open-cockpit car. His death prompted a new race car designed with a roll cage that completely enclosed the driver.

Bob Burman just before his fatal accident in 1916.

Government in 1953A Federal Grand Jury in San Francisco indicted Hugh Bryson, president of the National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards, on charges with lying about not being a communist.

Clint Eastwood in “Dirty Harry” (1971).

Carmel in 1986Clint Eastwood, film star and director, was elected mayor of Carmel. He campaigned to overturn the “ice cream cone law,” restricting the sale of fast-food including ice cream cones, in the coastal tourist town.

Crime in 1989Charles Hughes, age 18, and Roshawn Johnson, age 20, innocent bystanders, were killed in a gang gun battle in Hunters Point.

Trevor in 2000Claire Trevor, Hollywood actress, died in Newport Beach at age 90. She starred in over 60 films, including “Key Largo” (1948) and “The High and the Mighty” (1954). Trevor was called the “Queen of Film Noir” because of her appearance in many “bad girl” roles.

Intel logo (1968-2005).

Business in 2008Intel of Santa Clara completed its first round of investment in China and planed to invest $500 million more in the next several years.

Government 2010The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a notice of violation to Chemical Waste Management involving federal laws on the disposal of PCBs. Neighbors blamed the landfill near Kettleman City for at least 11 birth defects since 2007.

Kettleman City.

Architecture in 2011The Naval Hospital, formerly called Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland collapsed after some 800 pounds of dynamite blasted the 11-story building into a pile of rubble.

Jesus Campos.

Crime in 2011Jesus Campos, owner of the popular Otaez Mexicatessen restaurant in Oakland was shot and killed as he arrived to work.

Public health in 1991Oakland A’s stadium became first outdoor stadium in the U.S. to ban smoking.

April 9

Santa Barbara in 1850Santa Barbara incorporated five months before California became a U.S. state in September of 1850.

Portion of a preliminary sketch of Santa Barbara (Harrison 1853) based on the 1852 T-sheet no. 373.

Earliest known photo of Los Angeles, circa 1862. The view looks east over the Los Angeles Plaza from atop Fort Moore Hill around 1862. Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library.

Post offices in 1850U.S. Post offices opened in Los Angeles and Mission San Jose.

Government in 1856Fresno, San Francisco, San Mateo and Tehema counties were established.

Religion in 1906The Azusa Street Revival meeting began in Los Angeles. Led by William Seymour, an African American preacher, it began the Pentecostal movement.

Kelvinator (1926).

Kelvinators in 1927The new Princess Apartments in San Francisco offered a Kelvinator electric refrigerator in every apartment. They were run from a central unit in the basement.

Transportation in 1961The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, known as the Red Car system, ended operations. It was the largest electric railway in the world in the 1920s. Started in 1887, it connected cities in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

Sports in 1966The California Angels Anaheim Stadium opened. Unofficially nicknamed the Big A, it is the fourth-oldest stadium in the major leagues.

Sports in 1974Ray Kroc, San Diego Padres owner, addressed fans; “Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you. I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life.”

Sports in 1981Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, shut out the Houston Astros 2-0 on opening day in his rookie year. His pitching was so celebrated it became known as “Fernandomania.”

Los Angeles Lakers.

Sports in 1982Los Angeles Lakers set a NBA regulation game record by blocking 21 of the Denver Nuggets’ shots.

Sports in 2001Michelle Kwan, figure skater born in Torrance, won the Sullivan Award as the top U.S. amateur athlete.

Katrina Leung.

Crime in 2003 James Smith, a senior FBI counterintelligence agent, age 59, was arrested in Los Angeles along with Katrina Leung, venture capitalist, age 49, for theft and transfer of a classified defense document to the Chinese government.

Government in 2008The California Supreme Court rejected San Francisco’s appeal of a lower court ruling, limiting the city’s ability regulate handguns as approved by voters in 2005.

Sports in 2008San Francisco officials changed the course of the Beijing Olympic torch at the last minute to avoid most protestors and spectators.

Route of the Beijing Olympic torch (2008).

Cut fiber optic cables being repaired.

Crime in 2009Vandals in the San Jose and San Carlos cut fiber optic cables, disrupting service for hundreds of thousands of people in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

Accidents in 2009Nick Adenhart, Los Angeles Angels pitcher, was killed along with two others in a car accident with a suspected drunk driver in Fullerton.

Nick Adenhart.

April 10

Transportation in 1878The California Street Cable Railroad Company started service. On opening day, 11,000 people rode the 1.7 mile line to the top of Nob Hill where the Bonanza Kings were building palatial homes.

Early San Francisco Cable Car on Clay Street, 1878. Photos: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library.

La Fiesta de Los Aneles (1894).

Festivals in 1894La Fiesta de Los Angeles began. It was the idea of business leader Max Meyberg to promote Los Angeles.

Movies in 1953Warner Brothers premiered the first 3-D film from a major U.S. studio. “House of Wax,” a horror film, starred Vincent Price.

LA Dodgers. World Series pennant (1963).

Sports in 1962The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the first game at Dodger Stadium, 6-3. The stadium is the third oldest continually used park in Major League Baseball.

Sports in 1982The Los Angeles Kings completed the largest comeback in NHL playoff history. They went from down 5-0 to win the game 6-5 in overtime. It was called the “Miracle on Manchester.”

Mei “Linda” Leung.

Crime in 1984Mei “Linda” Leung, age 9, was murdered in San Francisco by Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the “Night Stalker.”

Business in 1989Intel Corp of Santa Clara released the 80-486 chip. It was the first x86 chip to use more than a million transistors, due to a large on-chip cache and an integrated floating-point unit.

Sports in 1991Wayne Gretzky, of the Los Angeles Kings, scored a National Hockey League record 93rd playoff goal.

Accidents in 1992Sam Kinison, 38-year-old comedian, was killed in a car crash outside Needles. He was known for intense, harsh and politically incorrect humor.

Science in 2001Doctors in San Diego implanted genetically modified cells in the brain of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease to slow her mental decline.

San Francisco protest against U.S. military presence in Iraq (2004).

Protests in 2004Several thousand protesters gathered in San Francisco to call for ending U.S. military presence in Iraq.

Crime in 2004Isaac Espinoza, San Francisco Police officer age 29, was shot dead and his partner wounded in the Bayview neighborhood. David Hill, arrested the next day, who used an AK-47 against the officers, was found guilty of murder.

Steve Vaught.

Cross-country walking 2005Steve Vaught, age 39, left San Diego to walk to New York to lose some of his 400 pounds. He completed his walk in May, 2006 after losing around 100 pounds.

Business in 2013Governor Jerry Brown, on a trade mission to Beijing, announced that a Chinese investor would help pay for a $1.5 billion development deal in Oakland to transform 65 acres of industrial waterfront.

Apple Corp.

Business in 2012Apple Inc. of Cupertino claimed a value of $600 billion, a milestone only one other company ever achieved. That made it the largest company by market capitalization in the world.

April 11

Exploration in 1769
The San Antonio, Gaspar de Portola’s expedition ship anchored in San Diego Bay after 54 days at sea from Mexico. The San Carlos, her sister ship, encountered severe storms and not reach San Diego for 110 days. Both landed near present day Los Angeles before finding their way south because of an error on Vizcaino’s map from 1602.

Modoc War in 1873U.S. Army General Edward Canby and others met with Captain Jack and other Modocs to discuss ending the war. But Canby told Captain Jack the U.S. commission could not meet his terms until orders came from Washington.

Burbank in 1906Luther Burbank, botanist and agricultural scientist, died at his Gold Ridge Farm in Sonoma County. He developed hundreds of varieties fruits, flowers, grains, grasses, and vegetables.

Japanese American internment in 1943James Hatsuki Wakasa, 63-year-old chef, was shot and killed by a sentry at Topaz Concentration Camp. He was accused of trying to escape through a fence. It was determined he was inside the fence, facing the sentry when shot. The sentry was tried before a general court martial but found not guilty.

Sports in 1959Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, hit a home run on opening day. He was the only pitcher to hit more than one career homer in an opening day game. The Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs 6–1.

Sports in 1970When the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1, that was the only day the Reds were not in first place that year.

Apple I computer, with a homemade wooden computer case.

Computers in 1976The original Apple Computer, later known as the Apple I, was released. Designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak, it was demonstrated in July at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto.

Crime in 1982Ronald Allen, a 32-year-old member of Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland, was found murdered on Easter morning.

Protests in 1997Some 25,000 people marched in Watsonville to support the United Farm Workers drive to organize field laborers. Their focus began with California’s $576 million strawberry industry.

United Farm Workers Foundation.

Stadiums in 2000AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, opened.

National Science Foundation.

Computers in 2005Officials said U.C. Berkeley would lead a 5-year, $19 million project, funded by the National Science Foundation, to prevent hackers from penetrating U.S. computer networks.

Pointer in 2006June Pointer, the youngest of the Pointer Sisters, died in Los Angeles at age 52. The sisters were famous for hits such as “Yes We Can Can” (1973) and “Wang Dang Doodle” (1974).

Browne in 2007Roscoe Lee Browne, stage, film and television actor, died in Los Angeles at age 81. Known for a rich voice and dignified bearing, he appeared on “Mannix,” “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” and dozens of other shows.

Roscoe Lee Browne.

Haight Ashbury Food Program.

San Francisco in 2008Haight Ashbury Food Program in San Francisco closed their soup kitchen due to reduced grants and donations. It served as many as 450 people a day for some 25 years.

Environment in 2011In San Francisco, the Goldman Environmental prize was awarded to six people from around the world. They worked to cut pollution, resist mining, reduce reliance on nuclear power, protect a river and an island and defend wildlife.

Goldman Environmental Prize.

Government in 2013California restricted use of the chemical known as Bisphenol-A (BPA), declaring it a reproductive toxicant.

Skunk Train.

Accidents in 2013A 40-foot section of the Skunk Train Tunnel No. 1 collapsed near Fort Bragg, blocking access to 36 miles of track to Willits.

Winters in 2013Jonathan Winters, comedian, died in Montecito at age 87. He recorded comedy albums for over 50 years, receiving 11 Grammy Award nominations, winning for Best Album for Children (1975) and for Best Spoken Comedy Album for “Crank(y) Calls” (1996).

April 12

Charles Bowles, also known as Black Bart.

Crime in 1883Charles Earl Bowles, English born gentleman bandit known as Black Bart, left poems at the scene of his crimes. He robbed Wells Fargo Stagecoaches 28 times. The 26th time was in Sonoma County, five miles from Cloverdale.

Military posts in 1898 The U.S. Army transferred a military post on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay to the U.S. Navy. Today the post is a U.S. Coast Guard facility.

U.S. Coast Guard Station, Yerba Buena Island.

Military posts in 1933The U.S. Navy commissioned Moffatt Federal Airfield near Sunnyvale. Hangar One, covering eight acres. became one of the world’s largest freestanding structures. NASA’s Ames Research Center was a next door. Today the airfield is leased to Google.

Historical photograph of Moffett Field’s Hanger One under construction during the years of 1931-1933.

Sports in 1960The San Francisco Giants first took the field at Candlestick Park. Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the opening day ball. Candlestick was rocked on October 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta Earthquake struck, minutes before Game 3 of the World Series was to begin.

Transportation in 1962San Mateo County withdrew from the San Francisco Bay Area BART district. Supervisors said their voters would be paying taxes to carry mainly Santa Clara County residents.

BART map.

Music in 1965The Byrds, a Los Angeles band, released Bob Dylan’s song “Mr. Tambourine Man” as a single. It became the first folk rock smash hit.

Berry in 1966 Jan Berry of Jan and Dean was in a car crash that left him in a month-long coma. Their hit songs included “Surf City” (1963) and “Little Old lady from Pasadena” (1964).

Robinson in 1989 Sugar Ray Robinson, middleweight boxing champion, died in Culver City at age 67. Some say he was the greatest boxer of all time.

Sports in 2004 Barry Bonds hit his 660th home run to tie Willie Mays for third on baseball’s career list. That sent the San Francisco Giants to a 7-5 win over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.

Business in 2006Eric Schmid, CEO of Google Inc. in Mountain View, defended their cooperation with Chinese censorship as he announced creation of a Beijing research center and unveiled a Chinese-language brand name.

Google.

Marilyn Chambers.

Chambers in 2009Marilyn Chambers, pioneer adult film actress, died in Los Angeles at age 56. She modeled for Ivory Snow detergent as a baby. But her role in “Behind the Green Door” (1972), made her famous.

Government in 2011 Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring the state’s utilities to get 33% of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2020.

Weather in 2012 Thunder storms dropped a record 1.24 inches of rain in San Francisco. The previous record was .92 inches on April 12, 2003.

April 13

Post offices in 1870A U.S. post office opened in Nicasio near Tomales Bay in Marin County.

Crime in 1895 Minnie Williams, age 21, was found raped and killed at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Francisco. She was last seen with Theodore Durrant, a medical student. Police then found Blanche Dumont dead in the church belfry. Durrant hanged for their murders at San Quentin in 1898.

Theodore Durrant.

Movies in 1964 Sidney Poitier became the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. He won for “Lilies of the Field” (1963).

Nyiregyhazi in 1987 Ervin Nyiregyhazi, Hungarian-born pianist, died in Los Angeles at age 84. He was a child prodigy when he arrived in the U.S. in 1920. He married 10 times and left behind over a 1000 largely unknown works.

Ervin Nyiregyhazi (1920).

Bank of America.

Business in 1998Bank of America, in San Francisco, announced a $62.5 billion merger with NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina. The country’s first coast-to-coast bank would be called BankAmerica Corp. with headquarters in Charlotte.

Music in 1999 “Monsters of Grace,” a digital 3-D opera composed by Philip Glass and directed by Robert Wilson, was scheduled to premier at U.C. Berkeley. Music set to love poems by the Sufi poet Rumi.

Business in 2000 Metallica, the heavy metal rock group from Los Angeles, filed suit against Napster, headquartered in Los Angeles, for copyright infringement and racketeering.

Napster.

Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

Sports in 2004 Barry Bonds hit his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take possession of third place on baseball’s career list.

Education in 2006A 29-page report faulted U.C. executives and the Board of Regents for lack of oversight in pay practices and the use of public funds.

Business in 2007 Google, Inc of Mountain View announced purchase of DoubleClick, an Internet services company, for $3.1 billion.

Google.

Parks in 2007Gavin Newsom, San Francisco mayor, signed an agreement to ban cars from Golden Gate Park’s main road for six months and ban them permanently on Sundays from a smaller area .

Golden Gate Park pedestrians.

Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants

Sports in 2011A San Francisco jury convicted Barry Bonds, baseball star, of obstructing justice regarding his use of performance-enhancing drugs. A federal appeals court upheld the felony conviction in 2013.

Crime in 2011California state’s insurance commissioner accused Sutter Health of fraud. It was accused of billing hundreds of millions over a decade for medical services that, sometimes, were not even provided.

April 14

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

Exploration in 1543The first Spanish ships to explore the California coast returned to Navidad, Mexico after nearly a year’s journey. Juan Cabrillo, the explorer, died during the voyage but his second-in-command brought the three ships back to port.

Overland trail in 1846The wagon train that became known as the Donner Party began their westward journey from Springfield, Missouri. The original group was three families headed by brothers, George and Jacob Donner and James Reed. Each family has three covered wagons and teamsters to drive the oxen that pulled them. The Reeds also has two servants. Other families joined along the trail. Half of them would not survive.

Georgia and Eliza Donner with Mary Brunner (1850)

Pony Express in 1860The first Pony Express reached San Francisco. It was a ten-day horseback ride from St. Joseph, Missouri.

Business in 1872A Bar Association organized in San Francisco. The private legal organization supports San Francisco legal professionals.

Literature in 1939John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath was published by the Viking Press in New York. The Salinas-born author told the story of the Joad family’s journey to California through the Dust Bowl and Great Depression.

Government in 2009Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco Supervisor, proposed the city sell and distribute medical marijuana.

Marijuana leaf.

Crime in 2010 Federal agents in northern California charged 18 people with defrauding banks and lenders with false mortgage loan applications. Losses totaled at least $10 million from 2005 to 2009.

Hydrocodone tablets.

Crime in 2010 Daniel Healy, a 45-year-old of Los Angeles physician, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for dispensing over a million hydrocodone tablets for cash. He made nearly $700,000 in 2008 by selling the powerful painkiller.

Government in 2011 San Francisco supervisors learned the city’s overtime bill for the fiscal year was some $40 million; $12 million above the previous year.

Accidents in 2012Five sailors were lost In the Full Crew Farallones Race outside San Francisco. A towering wave washed them overboard as their boat rounded the Farallon Islands. Three sailors survived.